The Brazilian choreographer Bruno Beltrão simply calls his latest work “New Creation”, which he brought to the stage in Hall G in the Museumsquartier with his Grupo de Rua on Tuesday as part of the Vienna Festival. The focus of the work, which consists of numerous loosely linked scenes, is the search for solidarity and common ground, as the announcement says: a dance between attraction and repulsion, which is celebrated here for 60 minutes.
Beltrão was last celebrated for his mix of hip-hop, breakdance and street dance in 2017 as part of New Creation: Inoah. The choreographer, born in 1979, has remained true to his roots this time, only the degree of abstraction has increased. The beats have lost their punch in favor of spherical sounds. So it’s mainly fleeting duets that are somewhere between approach and fight. The ten dancers meet either in pairs or small groups on the otherwise gloomy, empty stage in the spotlight to compete, love, hate and also miss.
It’s the little tricks that create excitement on this short evening. The aggressive flare-up of a muscle twitch becomes a statement here, reaching into the void a metaphor for unfulfilled desire. “In 2022, the social divisions in Brazil have long been exacerbated. Hate speech and hate dominate,” one reads in the program booklet and can draw parallels to one’s own environment. Exclusion and the desire to finally belong can be found in almost every one of the numerous short, often only hinted images of the evening.
Beltrão manages to bring the melting point of street art and high culture to the stage in just a few seconds. What is art, what belongs on the street? And is there a limit at all? Questions that the audience answered with prolonged applause.
(SERVICE – Wiener Festwochen: “New Creation” by Bruno Beltrão in Hall G in the Museumsquartier. Other dates: May 25 to 28. Information and tickets at www.festwochen.at)